Buffaslug Designer Talks More About Process
Wednesday · Mar 14 · 2012 | 12:14 PM PDT
The designer behind one of the most hated logos in NHL history is once again talking about the process of rebranding the Buffalo Sabres back in 2006 — a rebrand which has since been completely dispensed with.
Kristopher Bazen made news here last year after he asked Sabres creative services director Frank Cravotta to remove some old sketches of the "Buffaslug" from his online portfolio. Bazen said it might've been "misleading" since the design was a "collaborative effort." However, a year later, Bazen has posted more of that early conceptual work on his own website. Here's a look at those designs:
Buffalo Sabres conceptual work (2005) / Kristopher Bazen
There are a lot of neat ideas in there, but I'm not sure any of them would've been an improvement on the original 1970 logo — an updated version of which the Sabres use today.
On this subject, Bazen made the rounds yesterday on some popular hockey websites. He posted the above link on the SportsLogos.net message boards and spent a lot of time talking about the design process. If you have some time to kill, there's some stuff worth reading. Basically, for an artist, he's one thick-skinned human being and he's good at responding to questions. More on the SportsLogos.net blog.
Also yesterday, Puck Daddy had a long in-depth feature about Bazen and his work with the Sabres. I highly recommend taking the time to read this one. Greg Wyshynski leaves no stone unturned and if you like hockey logos, you'll find yourself fascinated by almost every word.
I think the reason Bazen keeps coming up is that despite the fact he is a fantasic logo designer, he's being haunted by what the higher-ups in the Sabres organization ultimately wanted. He doesn't need to defend himself as he's quite talented as you can see in his portfolio. But I like that he's giving us a little insight into how it all works.
Reader Comments (10)
Love hos Ottawa and Anaheim design
What's up, everybody!
I've followed Icethetics for quite some time now, so I wanted to personally take time to stop by and say thanks for following this crazy tale of a sports identity re-boot gone terribly wrong!
I'll be totally honest, I never expected this subject to become such a hot topic again, so I appreciate Puck Daddy reaching out to me and providing me an opportunity to speak on, by far, one of the craziest periods in my life. The reception has been great, and I am very fortunate and honored to be a part of Sabres history, even if it is for having a hand in creating one of the most reviled logos in sports history! As crazy as it sounds, I wouldn't take this experience back for the world. Thanks for the kind words, and I appreciate you sharing my story with your audience!
Take care.
As ugly as that logo was, nobody can despite the fact that it lead the NHL in it's modern phase. That along with the jersey design that was behind the logo. That design has spread like wildfire in minor hockey leagues from the year 2006. In all honesty that logo would have been acceptable in the NFL or CFL, but it's just not hockey. That was the whole trouble.
Being from Toronto it's easy to snicker at the ugly Sabre logos, but that jersey was well put together, and it's a shame all that work backfired.
Never understood all the hate toward this logo. I mean sure it's not the best in the world. But it's far from the worse in my most humble opinion.
Checked out his website, my god he's talented! Great bio too. Kris if you read this, keep up the good work!
never hated the logo itself. but i did hate it as a primary nhl logo. especially for my beloved sabres.
Thanks for the compliment, ETOWN!!!
A couple of them in the bottom right of the top section are similar to the eventual logo, but they have . . . legs! One wonders if the same basic logo would have been more widely accepted if it had had legs, without which it is undeniablely a disembodied slug.
Therefore, I don't think the visceral negative reaction to the final logo was unwarranted; after all, people do, in fact, prefer their buffaloes to look like buffaloes in some way.
Love the logo in the bottom section, top right corner. As a loyal Buffalo fan,im happy with our logos and jerseys we have today. But wouldnt mind seeing that logo on a 3rd ora second or something. Few fun ideas up there
I agree with exileindc... I think that if one of the "leggy" concepts had made it onto a jersey, it wouldn't have been met with such ire. I really love the designs on the bottom right, especially the white buffaloes in the circles.
Having said that, I think when the Sabres went back to their original colors, nothing could have topped their original logos because the Sabres honestly hit it out of the park the first time. Every crossed-sword under leaping buffalo in a circle since then is both an imitation of and a tribute to those first decades of perfection. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to design something that is reminiscent of the past while looking forward to the future. I definitely give Kris credit for that.
And one more thing I always love to say about these jerseys... Hey, we won a President's Cup the first year in those things. I haven't trashed the logos since then.